-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- As outrage grows over a Sudanese woman sentenced to death for refusing to renounce her Christianity , the government defended the verdict , but said it 's only preliminary .

A Khartoum court last week convicted Meriam Yehya Ibrahim , 27 , of apostasy , or the renunciation of faith .

Ibrahim , who is eight months pregnant , is a Christian , her husband said . But the court considers her a Muslim .

`` I 'm so frustrated . I do n't know what to do , '' said her husband , Daniel Wani . `` I 'm just praying . ''

100 lashes

The court also convicted her of adultery and sentenced her to 100 lashes because her marriage to a Christian man is considered void under Sharia law .

Wani is American , Ibrahim 's lawyer Mohamed Jar Elnabi told CNN .

The attorney said he 'll file an appeal within a few days .

Sudanese parliament speaker Fatih Izz Al-Deen said the verdict is not final and is in the hands of the judiciary .

The verdict will go through all the judicial stages to reach the constitutional court , the speaker told Um Derman radio station . His comments were cited Friday by the official Sudanese News Agency .

Ibrahim says she was born to a Sudanese Muslim father and an Ethiopian Orthodox mother . Her father left when she was age 6 , and she was raised by her mother as a Christian .

However , the lawyer representing Ibrahim 's family said Sunday that the mother is a devout Muslim .

The court had warned Ibrahim to renounce her Christianity by Thursday , but she held firm to her beliefs .

But the parliament speaker said that claims she was raised as non-Muslim are untrue .

She is a Muslim raised in an Islamic environment and her brother , a Muslim , filed the complaint against her , according to Izz Al-Deen .

The complaint alleges she went missing for several years and her family was shocked to find out she married a Christian , according to her lawyer .

However , because her father was Muslim , the courts considered her one too , which would mean her marriage to a non-Muslim man is void .

Attempts to contact Sudan 's justice minister and foreign affairs minister were unsuccessful .

Pregnant with toddler in prison

Ibrahim 's husband is struggling to survive .

He uses a wheelchair and `` totally depends on her for all details of his life , '' said Jar Elnabi , her lawyer .

In addition to her pregnancy , the couple 's 20-month-old toddler is with her in prison , and he is getting regular ailments due to lack of hygiene and the presence of bugs , the lawyer said .

She 's having a difficult pregnancy , and a request to send her to a private hospital was denied , the lawyer said .

There also is the question of the timing of a potential execution .

In past cases involving pregnant or nursing women , the Sudanese government waited until the mother weaned her child before executing any sentence , said Christian Solidarity Worldwide spokeswoman Kiri Kankhwende .

Worldwide condemnation

Rights groups and foreign embassies worldwide condemned the verdict .

`` The fact that a woman could be sentenced to death for her religious choice , and to flogging for being married to a man of an allegedly different religion , is abhorrent and should never be even considered , '' said Manar Idriss , Amnesty International 's Sudan researcher .

Katherine Perks with the African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies said the verdict goes against Sudan 's `` own constitution and commitments made under regional and international law . ''

Foreign embassies in Khartoum , including those of the United States , United Kingdom and Canada , urged the government to reverse course .

CNN 's Catherine Shoichet , Christabelle Fombu , Mohammed Tawfeeq and Mohammed Osman contributed to this report .

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Meriam Yehya Ibrahim considers herself Christian , but a court says she 's Muslim

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A Khartoum court convicted her of apostasy , or the renunciation of faith

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The court also found her guilty of adultery for being married to a Christian